Crib stabilizer

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a stabilizing means for cribs which attaches to the spring and moves with the spring as the height of the spring is adjusted. The brace is L-shaped and is secured to the spring at one end. The brace also contains a lateral member at the other end which fits into standard height-adjusting hooks widely used in the manufacturing of cribs.

United States Patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Winer 1 51 Jan 25, 1972 s41 CRIB STABILIZER 2,641,772 6/1953 Cook ..5/11 x 2,952,306 9/1960 Adier.. ..297/449 [721 Invent: mcha'd 32 3,021,960 2/1962 Pipe ..248/188.7 x

bury, Mass. 01776 22 Filed; May 15, 1970 Primary Examiner-Casmir A. Nunberg Attorney-Abraham Ogman [2]] App]. No.: 37,548 1 [57] ABSTRACT [52] [LS- CI. ..5/1l, 5/93 R, 5/100 The invention relates to a Stabilizing means for cribs which [51] i CI "A47d 7/03 A47d 9/00 taches to the spring and moves with the spring as the height of [58] Fleld of Search ..5/1 1, 93, 100, 92; 248/188, the Spring i adjused. Th brace i L Shaped d is Secured to 248/1 88-1; 21 1/176; 182/179; 297/449 the spring at one end. The brace also contains a lateral member at the other end which fits into standard height-ad- [56] References cued justing hooks widely used in the manufacturing of cribs.

5* Claim 3 wi ure PATENIED JANZS I972 INVENTOR. RICHARD S. WINER CRIB STABILIZER All cribs contain a headboard, footboards and a horizontal spring attached to the headboard and footboard. The headboard and footboard generally contain sets of vertically aligned and spaced hooks which permit the spring to be raised and lowered. The other essential structural elements for the conventional crib are the drop sides which reciprocate in a vertical direction.

The basic crib structure is a highly unstable and undesirable from the consumers point of view.

In most cases the spring is joined to the headboard and footboard by lateral and rotatable hooks. They provide no stiffening. The drop sides are mounted very loosely in their guides and are of limited effectiveness. Additionally, new industry standards regarding the minimum distance between the top of the drop sides and the bottom of the spring requires the elimination of one guide hole for the guide rods on which the drop sides reciprocate.

In the past, in order to provide additional stability, a heavy angle bar interconnects each side of the headboard and footboard below the lowest adjusted height of the spring. These angle bars are generally put only on cribs in the to or near top of the line since they are very costly in this highly competitive market. The angle bar has other disadvantages in that it is heavy and adds to the cost of shipping. It also detaches completely from the crib when the crib is stored and is sometimes misplaced and lost.

Perhaps the most important disadvantage of the angle bar is that it does not truly stabilize the crib. It is simply too low to be ideally effective. It is very common for the tops of the headboard and footboard to move toward and away from each other as an infant moves about the crib. It is this movement which causes cribs to move about the room.

Without an effective stabilizing means, as a drop side is raised or lowered, the headboard and footboard of a crib tend to rotate about the pivot point (either the spring, or the angle stabilizing bar) in a reciprocating manner. Without the single stabilizing bar, this is much worse. The headboard and footboard move a fairly large distance as the drop sides are raised or lowered, especially if the drop sides are skewed with respect to the horizontal. It is difficult to avoid skewing since the sideboards are instrumental in holding the footboard and headboard in place.

This function is very important since this makes thecrib safer and more saleable. With the headboard and footboard held in place, the crib is much safer because the drop side latching mechanism has much less chance of coming loose since most of the movement is eliminated. It is the constant movement on the latching mechanism of drop sides that makes them subject to failure.

It is a object of the invention to provide a crib stabilizing means.

It is another object of the invention to provide a crib stabilizing means in the form of four bars that interconnect the spring with height positioning hooks on the headboard and footboard.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a crib stabilizing means which (i) is permanently attached to a crib spring and folds into the spring for shipping, (ii) it is efficient and inexpensive, (iii) requires no significant change in existing crib manufacturing practices, and (iv) provides vastly improved stabilizing performance.

The novel features that are considered characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims; the invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of a specific embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric representation of a stabilizing bar;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a crib and spring assembly showing the stabilizing bar assembled; and

FIG. 3 is a partial and enlarged side view showing the stabilizing bar attached to the spring and a height positioning hook.

Referring to the figures, note that no attempt has been made to use realistic proportions of the crib and bar members. The figures serve only to show the structure and application of a stabilizing bar to a crib in a clear and unambiguous way.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a stabilizing bar 10. The stabilizing bar 10 is a unitary member constructed preferably out of steel bar stock. The bar 10 contains a longitudinal portion 11 containing a pivot hole 12 on one end, an intermediate lateral stop 13 and a lateral portion 14 attached to the other end. The end containing the pivot hole is also angled as shown at 16. The lateral portion 14 contains a notch 17 defined in its underside.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown schematically a crib containing a headboard 18 and a footboard 19. Each of the headboard 18 and footboard 19 conventionally contains two sets of spaced height positioning books 21 on which a crib spring 23 or other support structure is mounted by means of a spring extension 15. Only one set of books on each of the headboard 18 and footboard 19 is shown. The hooks 21 in each set are typically vertically aligned and vertically spaced. Hooks on each of the four sets that cooperate to hold the spring 23 are at the same elevation.

To this point, the crib structure defined is standard and used throughout the industry. The height of the spring may be adjusted by placing the spring in any one of the five vertically aligned hooks.

As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the brace 10 is secured to the spring frame 23 by means of a rivet or nut and bolt 26.

The lateral portion 14 is positioned in a hook 21 below the hook holding the spring 23. Though the use of a hook 21 immediately below the book 21 supporting the spring is illustrated and preferred, this is not a limitation. The second or third hook below the spring hook may be used. The notch 17 in the brace embraces the hook 21 preventing lateral movement of the lateral portion 14 in the hook 21.

A stabilizing means comprises four braces, two on each side of the crib. With the four braces in place, the relative movement of the crib parts cannot exceed the clearances provided by notch 17 and the pivot rivet in the pivot hole. When all four braces are in place,-the crib is stabilized to a far greater extent than has ever heretofore been achieved and, without question, to a far greater extent than the stabilization arising out of the present industry practice of using horizontal angle braces.

While the use of height adjusting hooks 21 is standard throughout the industry, the number of vertically aligned hooks 21 may vary with the individual manufacturer and generally with the quality of the crib. Accordingly, the distance 11,, see FIG. 2, of the lateral stop 13 from the pivot hole is adjusted to set the vertical displacement D" so that when the spring is positioned in a book 21 the notch 17 of the lateral portion 14 is also positioned in a lower hook 21 as is clearly shown in FIG. 3.

Since the vertical displacement D is fixed by the location of the stop 13 and since each brace is attached to the frame 23, as the spring is adjusted and positioned in hooks at a given elevation, the notch 17 will automatically fit into an available hook below the spring 23.

The angle B is coordinated with the location of the stop 13 so that thewidth of the lateral portion 13 lies flat against the headboard or footboard.

The angled pivot end is provided because typically the vertical dimension of the spring 23 frame is 0.50 and the preferred brace width is at least 0.75. The angle not only pennits the brace 10 to be mounted more securely in spring frame, it also makes it possible to rotate the brace to the rear to a near parallel position with the spring to facilitate shipping.

The various features and advantages of the invention are thought to be clear from the foregoing description. Various other features and advantages not specifically enumerated will undoubtedly occur to those versed in the art, as likewise will many variations and modifications of the preferred embodiment illustrated, all of which may be achieved without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims:

I claim:

1. In combination with a crib containing a headboard and a footboard where each of said headboard and said footboard has two sets of vertically aligned and height adjusting spaced hooks, where cooperating hooks in each set being at the same height, and said hooks for supporting a spring, a spring defined by a peripheral frame containing lateral means for cooperating with said hooks to support said spring at an adjustable height, said improvement comprising an L-shaped brace containing an elongated portion and a lateral portion, said elongated portion being provided with a pivot to said frame at one end and further containing an intermediate lateral stop to bear against the underside of said frame for supporting said frame and for positioning the lateral member to fit into a hook.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1 in which said lateral member contains a notch for embracing a hook to prevent lateral movement of said brace.

3. A combination as described in claim 1 in which the pivot end is angled to permit the brace to rotate relative to said pring.

4. A combination as described in claim 1 in which the lateral portion is angled relative to said longitudinal member as a function of the location of the lateral stop tolie flat against the headboard and footboard. 

1. In combination with a crib containing a headboard and a footboard where each of said headboard and said footboard has two sets of vertically aligned and height adjusting spaced hooks, where cooperating hooks in each set being at the same height, and said hooks for supporting a spring, a spring defined by a peripheral frame containing lateral means for cooperating with said hooks to support said spring at an adjustable height, said improvement comprising an L-shaped brace containing an elongated portion and a lateral portion, said elongated portion being provided with a pivot to said frame at one end and further containing an intermediate lateral stop to bear against the underside of said frame for supporting said frame and for positioning the lateral member to fit into a hook.
 2. A combination as defined in claim 1 in which said lateral member contains a notch for embracing a hook to prevent lateral movement of said brace.
 3. A combination as described in claim 1 in which the pivot end is angled to permit the brace to rotate relative to said spring.
 4. A combination as described in claim 1 in which the lateral portion is angled relative to said longitudinal member as a function of the location of the lateral stop to lie flat against the headboard and footboard. 